Section 248 · Paragraph 239. Rules for writing and maintaining a history sheet

History sheets for both categories will be maintained in accordance with the instructions given in this paragraph, and those already in use in the old format will be prepared in accordance with these instructions.
Entries regarding relatives, associates, dependents, properties, occupation, income, and convictions will be made in the above-mentioned column on the first page and will be maintained and checked by the Circle Inspector and all Inspecting Officers. The remainder of the history sheet will be maintained as a series of paragraphs, describing facts in chronological order and containing marginal notes.
The first paragraph will be written when the history sheet is opened and will give a brief account of the suspect's past record and the reasons for opening the history sheet. The initial entries to be made in the history sheet will be submitted to the Superintendent for his approval before they are made. Subsequent paragraphs will be completed at the police station without reference to the Superintendent and will include:
(a) Detailed details of all absences.
(b) Details of all reports made to the police and all cases, whether cognizable or non-cognizable, instituted against the offender.
(c) The results of periodic inquiries into the offender's habits and reputation.
(d) Detailed details of cases in which the offender is suspected will be included.
A report of absence will not be filed unless the suspect is present. A report of a blockade or a house visit will not be filed unless it is capable of generating the information described above. For "cases in which the offender is suspected," only those cases will be included in which the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, or Deputy Superintendent has passed a reasonable suspicion.
Each paragraph should include the serial number and date of the diary or other record on the basis of which it was prepared, but it should be detailed enough to be complete in itself. The nature of the information included in each paragraph should be indicated in the margin opposite it, for example, "local investigation by the Divisional Inspector", "suspicious absence", "complaint of assault", "suspected of burglary". Entries regarding habits and general reputation should be made on the basis of inquiries from respectable persons in the suspect's village and neighboring villages and should indicate whether the suspect is a criminal or is reported to be earning an honest living, the amount of his income, his expenses, whether he is in regular employment, and the character and identity of his associates.
Vague generalities should be avoided.
The Sub-Inspector is personally responsible for each entry in the history sheet at the police station and should be made by him or a subordinate Sub-Inspector under his direction.
When a suspect is convicted of an offense or is bound over under Section 109 or 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and sentenced to imprisonment or punishment of six months or more, a note should be made in red ink below the last paragraph in his history sheet. A line will be drawn. Below this red line will be entered the date of conviction, the nature of the punishment, and the probable date of discharge. When a surveillance is issued, a similar black line will be drawn, below which the number and date of the Superintendent's order will be entered. When the history sheet is transferred to another police station, a similar black line will be drawn from one end to the other, and a brief note of the transfer will be made by the officer who sent it.